Download CHAPTER 20 RUSSIA

CHAPTER 20
RUSSIA
SECTION 1: REGIONS OF RUSSIA
SECTION 2: EMERGENCE OF RUSSIA
SECTION 3: GEOGRAPHIC ISSUES IN RUSSIA
SECTION 1: REGIONS OF RUSSIA
➢ Largest country in terms of land area
○ Stretches across 11 time zones
■ St. Petersburg going to bed Tuesday evening
■ Kamchatka is Wednesday morning
➢ Physical characteristics
○ Varied terrain
○ Landscape has specific characteristics
■ Highest mountain range - Caucasus
● Black Sea - Caspian Sea
● 18,000 feet
SECTION 1: REGIONS OF RUSSIA
➢ Plains
○ Most of Russia is relatively flat
○ Rolling plains cover almost all of the nation
■ West of Yenisei River
■ East of Yenisei River
● higher plateaus
● more varied terrain
➢ Ural Mountains
○ Extend north to south
■ crosses the plains
■ separates Europe from Asia
■ low mountains
● average elevation is 2,000 feet
● has low passes - migration
● contain many valuable minerals
SECTION 1: REGIONS OF RUSSIA
➢ Rivers
○ Plains and plateaus have many
○ Volga River - West of Ural Mountains
■ Europe’s longest river
■ Drains into the Caspian Sea
● landlocked lake
● below sea level
● world’s largest lake
■ East of Ural Mountains
● Rivers flow north to Arctic Ocean
○ Ob, Yenisei, and lena
■ Hard to see the other shore
SECTION 1: REGIONS OF RUSSIA
➢ Ecosystems
○ Plant and animal life is different
■ Dependent on location climate
○ Climate in most parts of Russia
■ Subarctic or Continental
■ Winters are long and bitterly cold
● Coldest temperature recorded -94 deg. F.
○ Outside of Antarctica
■ Summers are shorter
● Temperature can exceed 80 deg. F.
■ Spring and Fall are brief
○ Climatic conditions worsen moving farther north
■ Major Ecosystems lie in bands
● Stretch across much of the nation
SECTION 1: REGIONS OF RUSSIA
➢ Tundra
○ Paralleling the Arctic shoreline is a zone of tundra.
■ Tundra - treeless zone dominated by very small
plants and animals that have adapted to the polar
conditions of the region.
■ Tiny plants not subjected to wind survive
■ Must be able to retain moisture
■ Reindeer - Foxes - Rabbits - Polar Bears
➢ Taiga
○ Taiga (TAI guh) - area south of the tundra with broad
forested zone.
■ Term means little sticks
● Tree do not grow to great size
○ Pines - Firs - Larches - Cedars
○ Other areas have deciduous trees
○ Forests blanket almost ½ of Russia’s land
SECTION 1: REGIONS OF RUSSIA
➢ Taigu (cont)
○ trees great source of paper
○ home to many different animals
○ Sable - Wolves - Hares - Brown Bear
■ Brown Bear is symbol of Russia
■ Bear’s ancient name is not spoken because of fear
● Medved (mid VYED)
○ means - one who knows where honey is
● Believed it would provoke its anger
➢ Steppes
○ Steppes - broad open stretches of grassland
○ Chernozem - rich soil of the steppes
■ few grasses remain today
■ provides nutrients to Russia’s agricultural area
SECTION 1: REGIONS OF RUSSIA
➢ Siberia
○ Asian expanse of Russia
○ Remote area
○ Few human inhabitants
○ Cool and swampy
■ Layer of permanently frozen soil - Permafrost
● Extends in some areas 5,000 feet
○ Below ground
● Buildings stand 6 feet above ground in Siberia
○ Allows heat from building to circulate beneath
the building
■ Thaws ground and buildings collapse
● Rich reserves of valuable materials
○ Gold - Silver - Platinum - Zinc
○ Petroleum and Natural Gas
■ terrain difficult and expensive to extract
SECTION 2: EMERGENCE OF RUSSIA
➢ Russian modernization
○ Began in 800s
○ Slavice and Vikings
■ Looking for trade routes to Black Sea
● Tired of fighting settled the area of Ukraine
○ 800s - 1200s
○ Russian rulers adopted Orthodox Christianity
■ became a pillar of power for centuries
➢ Mongol warriors overrun in 1237
○ 150 years dominated region
■ known as Tatars and Golden Horde
○ 1300s Russian princes began 2 centuries of fighting
■ Repel Mongols
SECTION 2: EMERGENCE OF RUSSIA
➢ Expansion
○ 3 Centuries of growth
■ No sizable or powerful groups stood up
■ few natural barriers limited expansion
○ Series of monarchs (czars) oversaw the expansion
■ CZARS - emperor of Russia (variant on title
caesar)
● Peter the Great
○ Ruled from 1600s to 1700s
■ expanded control in east and west
■ new capital St. Petersburg
● Catherine the Great
○ 1700s
■ obtained parts of Poland/Belarus/Ukraine
■
SECTION 2: EMERGENCE OF RUSSIA
➢ Russian power challenged in 1812
○ Napoleon led invasion with 600,000 soldiers
■ Captured Moscow
● Fleeing set town on fire
● Deprived troops of needed food
● Geography became best defense
● Forced Napoleon to make a retreat
○ Following century
■ Czars consolidated power across northern Eurasia
● Took control of Finland /The Crimean Peninsula
● Siberia
● Annexed more than 100 different ethnic groups
➢ Social Structure
○ Feudalism remained through 1800s
○ Peasants forced to work land for wealthy
○ Serfdom abolished in 1861 / forced to pay high prices
SECTION 2: EMERGENCE OF RUSSIA
➢ The Rise of Communism
○ Dissatisfaction with Czars
○ Russian defeats and food shortages led to riots
■ St. Petersburg 1917
■ Government troops joined rioters
● Czars abdicated throne
● ABDICATED - give up crown
○ New government based on works of Karl Marx
■ German economist
■ To achieve social equality land and business should be
owned by the people in common
● communism
○ Establishment of USSR -Union of Soviet Socialist Republic
■ Each republic had it its own soviet
● SOVIET - governing council
■ 1940 annexed Lithuania / Latvia / Estonia
SECTION 2: EMERGENCE OF RUSSIA
➢ The Soviet System
○ Lenin and Stalin
■ Established a Communist dictatorship
○ COMMAND ECONOMY - one in which a central
authority decides what goods will be produced.
■ set goals for managers
● state-run farms / mines / factories
■ many believed communism would improve lives
● became new masters
● standard of living remained poor
● no freedom to make personal decisions
● could not express opinions
● millions sent to prison for resisting
○ forced labor camps
○ large amounts were executed
○ religious worship supressed
SECTION 2: EMERGENCE OF RUSSIA
➢ Agriculture and Industry
○ Farms reorganized into state-run farms
■ Farmers forced to work on them
■ No encouragement for hard work
● production and distribution were low
○ Emphasized the production of goods
■ Steel and machines
➢ International Conflicts
○ June 1941
■ German troops attacked Soviet Union
■ 6 months outskirts of Moscow
● Troops and people fought back
● Eventually pushed from Soviet land
■ 1945 Soviet troops controlled Berlin
● 20 million Soviet troops and civilians were killed
SECTION 2: EMERGENCE OF RUSSIA
➢ Cold War
○ High point of Soviet power
■ Nuclear Weapons
■ Advanced tanks
■ Jet Planes
■ Submarines
● Made Soviet Union a major world power
■ 1940s - 1980 competed for power
● United States
○ No war ever fought
SECTION 2: EMERGENCE OF RUSSIA
➢ The End of Communism
○ Cold War caused problems
■ long lines for supplies
■ stressed the economy
➢ Economic Reorganization
○ 1980s Mikhail Gorbachev
■ Began radical reforms
■ Instituted policy of glasnost
● GLASNOST - allowed citizens and news media
to say what they wished without fear of
government persecution.
● PERESTROIKA - economic restructuring
○ gradual change from a command system to a
private ownership
○ owners decide what to make
SECTION 2: EMERGENCE OF RUSSIA
➢ Political Change
○ People began calling for an end to communism
■ and central government domination
○ Baltic Republics declared independence
○ 1991 Russians voted in first democratic election
○ Elect Boris Yeltsin as President of Russian Republic
■ communists tried to regain control
○ End of 1991 Gorbachev resigns
■ announces end to Soviet Union
■ Many republics declared their own governments
➢ Planning for the Future
○ Leaders committed to democratic reforms
○ Constitution allows President to rule by decree
■ Communist party only major political organization
● Wanted free-market enterprise
● Missed security of Communist system
SECTION 2: EMERGENCE OF RUSSIA
➢ 1996 Yeltsin defeats a Communist candidate
○ Yeltsin resigns in 1999
○ Putin became acting president
○ 2000 Putin’s position is confirmed
■ characterized by many different activities
● build alliances
○ including the Communist party
● former Soviet republics
● western nations
○ including the United States
■ taking a more active role in world affairs
Section 3: Geographic Issues in Russia
➢ Rich and diverse culture - still has many problems
○ 80 percent consider themselves to be Russian
■ Descendants of the Slavic people
○ Ethnic minorities make up remaining population
➢ Urban and Rural life
○ ¾ live in cities
○ Traditional ways of life take place in rural areas
○ Soviet rule housing shortage existed
■ developed apartment blocks
● families had to share apartment
■ enjoy countryside
● hiking and camping
● Black Sea coast vacation area
■ long rich artistic creativity
● concerts, operas, ballet
Section 3: Geographic Issues in Russia
➢ Ethnic turmoil
○ 25 million residents
■ non-Russian ethnic groups
■ Ukrainians / Belarusians / Slavic groups
■ Many are from Siberia - ancestry (pre-Russia)
■ Others Europeans - migrated
○ Caucasus region
■ complicated and unsettled
■ 6 different states
■ 1992-2001 - armed conflict
● Russian troops and each other
○ Chechnya
■ Most intense resistance to Russia
■ Fought czarist
● Size of NJ - declared independence in 1991
● Population of 1.2 million
Section 3: Geographic Issues in Russia
➢ 1994 - 1997 Russia tries to regain control
○ 1990s Islamic militants asserted themselves
○ 1999 Russia invades again
■ both sides have been accused of terrorism and brutality
■ Want full independence
■ Russia unwilling to give in
● afraid they will spread violent opposition
➢ Transportation
○ Great size and harsh climates
■ difficult to maintain good transportation
■ Siberia is not suitable for roads of concrete
■ Air travel is expensive
■ Pipelines used for transporting oil and natural gas
Section 3: Geographic Issues in Russia
➢ Rivers are historically good trade routes
○ Even as they are frozen most of the year
■ Truckers use “ice” roads in winter
➢ Railroads
○ 93,000 miles of railroad tracks
■ greatest movement of people and goods
■ alternative means of moving oil
● pipeline
■ inexpensive means of travel
● carry nearly ½ of all railroad freight in the world
● Great Trans-Siberian Railroad completed in 1904
○ from Moscow to Vladivostok
■ Sea of Japan
○ Lake Baikal and Amur River 1,900 miles
■ 1984 called the Baikal-Amur Mainline
■ crosses 3,700 bodies of water
Section 3: Geographic Issues in Russia
➢ Economic Problems
○ Transition from command economy to market economy
■ Difficult
● lost secure government jobs
● benefits
● pensions
● consumer goods scarce
● cannot afford them
■ Some have prospered
● creating own businesses
○ Inflation
■ End of Soviet Union
● ended government price control
● Ruble went from $1.75 to less than $.01
○ RUBLE - the currency of Russia
Section 3: Geographic Issues in Russia
➢ BLACK MARKET - goods and services move unofficially
without formal record keeping.
○ Caused by the financial instability
➢ Privatization
○ conversion of state-run farms to private industry
■ was successful in few industries
■ not all collective farms were divided
■ many agreed to cooperative arrangements
● kept many the same
■ other reasons for failure of privatization was corruption
● sold physical assets of operations
○ put money in foreign banks
■ other industries were too old
● could not attract buyers
■ some businesses continue to run under government
control
Section 3: Geographic Issues in Russia
➢ 4 out of 10 people
○ trying to survive on less than what was considered to by
official level of subsistence
➢ Health problems
○ Health care started declining in 1990s
■ death rates rose
● 14 to every 1000 per year
● male life expectancy fell to 61 years of age
○ Increase
■ alcoholism
■ drug abuse
■ divorce
■ suicide
➢ The combined stresses led to decrease in birth rates
○ economic stresses and social pressures
■ 9 per every 1000 per year
Section 3: Geographic Issues in Russia
➢ Environmental Problems
○ Decisions by central planners
■ wasteful and inefficient
○ Industrialization
■ depleted sources and hurt environment
■ Siberia hard hit because of its abundant resources
● Respiratory and lung cancer levels
○ alarming rates at which children are affected
■ Oil spills and industrial pollution
● threaten bodies of water
● Volga River
○ polluted and choked by dams
■ some species of fish are extinct
● Barents Sea
○ 17,000 containers filled with nuclear materials
➢ Environmental issues are second to that gaining food and jobs